Why
by aoimidori
Summary: Why does he even bother with her when she's everything he doesn't want to deal with? [Shikamaru x Temari]


**Title** Why  
**Author** aoimidori

**Pairing/Characters** Shikamaru x Temari  
**Rating** PG, as usual, for safety  
**Genre** Pairing Randomness  
**Timeline** ---

**Summary** Why does he even bother with her when she's everything he doesn't want to deal with?

**Disclaimer** Nothing is mine. _Kishimoto Masashi_ created Naruto and all the characters in it, Shikamaru and Temari included. I own Shikamaru and Temari plushies though, made for me by a friend. XD And a Nara Shikamaru sticker sheet, bought for me by another friend. Yeah, I love my friends. But I don't own them either. ;p

**Author's Notes** Random spoilers from who knows what chapters? I haven't read Naruto since c250, I think? Heck the only reason why I'm even still in the fandom is because of this pairing, and we all know not much of them has happened since c247. So I'm just letting my imagination get the best of me. XD This is self-beta'd so feel free to inform me about grammatical corrections and missed typographical errors.

Dedicated to **tonks2006** who shares so many interests with me and understand most of my OTP fangirlisms. Besides, she asked for a ShikaTem fic on her Christmas Wishlist and this is already pretty late as it it. :D

_xxx_

He doesn't know when it was that they actually became a couple. It just... happened.

And right from the start, he'd been asking himself, "why?"

Why does he do it? Why does he put up Why does he go through the trouble? Why _her_?

And sometimes? Sometimes he'd come up with answers.

_xxx_

"Hey crybaby, I finally found you," she said, sitting on the grass beside him. He wanted to be alone. He didn't understand why she had to follow him out.

He refused to look at her, knowing that if he did, she'd see how red his eyes were from crying.

"Oi. Snap out of it. Shit happens," she said.

He groaned. How much more bothersome can she get?

"Try coming back from leading your first mission a failure, and with all your companions almost dead," he snapped. "And then you tell me how you feel."

She frowned, as if trying to figure out what to say. She then slowly, and awkwardly put an arm around his shoulder.

He snuck a glance at her. She cringed, obviously not sure about what she was doing.

"I cried too," she whispered. "On my 1st mission. My 1st kill. Its an entirely different case, but I remember, I think it helped. Even if only a little."

Shikamaru still refused to look at her.

_Was she telling him that it was okay to cry?_

He reused to let the tears fall now. He can't just let a _girl_ see him cry. _Her_, of all people, of all females! There was no way...

But he was only a boy, and he could only hold it in for so long.

Before he knew it, the tears were falling down his cheeks, and he was letting her see him cry for the second time that afternoon. This time around though, Temari, of all people, of all females, was holding him in her arms.

**Reason #01: She'd seen him at his absolute worst.**

x_xx_

"Oi you lazy bum!" his mother boomed, "What time will you be home today?"

His father shrugged as he closed the door behind him.

His mother threw her hands in the air, "Aiya! Shikamaru! You better not grow up like that father of yours!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He still doesn't understand what his father sees in his mother, no matter how many times he tried to explain.

"Here's your lunch," his mother said, handing him a pack. "Take care."

He grunted in return, before going through the door. Two months since the failed mission, it was his first day teaching at The Academy.

It wasn't the best job around, but it paid alright and he at least wouldn't be ridden with all sorts of troublesome missions all the time.

"Shikamaru-kun!" he heard a shrill familiar voice call as he approached The Academy.

Sure enough, when he turned around, Ino was there, waving at him.

He sighed, the last thing he needed was Ino pestering him again right before school. For some reason, she seemed extra curious about his personal life lately.

"So, you're not with that Sand woman right now," she loosely commented.

"No," he grumbled, "I'm on my way to class. Of course I wouldn't be with her."

"So you _do_ admit that if you weren't on your way to The Academy, you'd be with her?" she raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru just groaned and left her with a strange expression on her face. First his mother nags at him and then Ino pries into his personal life. What next?

By lunchtime, he was fed up with girls. There was one in class who seemed hell-bent in pleasing him. It was starting to really get into his nerves.

He brought his packed lunch up to the roof, like in the days when he was the student instead of the teacher.

Someone, however, was already occupying his spot when he got there.

"You," he rolled his eyes. "You can't even give me a break now that I'm teaching here?"

Temari shrugged, "What else am I supposed to do in this god forsaken village of yours?"

He cocked an eyebrow.

"So, what's for lunch?" she grinned.

He slumped down beside her, expecting a whole lunch break's worth of trouble.

Surprisingly enough though, she she just sat there and ate in silence with him.

**Reason #02: She wasn't as troublesome as other females...**

_xxx_

It's been more than a year since he last saw her. And the last time she'd dropped by Konoha, it was only for two days. It'd been all about business.

This time around it was going to be for much longer, and it was because she was there as a liaison from the Sand to help arrange the upcoming Chuunin exams.

For some reason, he'd been assigned to meet her at the Gates when she arrived.

He remembered that at times, she was pretty tolerable for a female. Still, why did he have to guide her around while she was in town? She should know her way around Konoha just fine.

But as he thought of her as he stood by the Gates, waiting, all he could remember was the fierce, demanding & loud-mouthed blonde who was so full of herself. Thinking of her made him cringe. Why him? Why was he the one who had to put up with her?

He sighed.

A soft breeze blew by.

"Pineapple Head?" and she was there, right in front of him, 4 ponytails and all.

"Oi," he nodded in reply.

"It's been a while," she said.

And then she did it, and he remembered once again why he found her tolerable.

She smiled. That same genuine, albeit somewhat cocky, smile she'd flashed him when she saved him from that flute wielding sound bitch.

**Reason #03: ...and when she ****_was_ trouble, she always proved worth it.**

x_xx_

He found her standing outside his classroom on his 16th birthday. Just standing there, apparently waiting for him to finish class.

"I didn't know you were going to be in town," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Heh," she smirked. "Surprise."

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"Usual. Advocacy tasks."

"I didn't hear about that."

"Like I said, surprise. Come on, let's take a walk," she said, walking on ahead of him.

"I don't like surprises," he told her as he caught up to her, on their way out of the building.

"Why not? Surprises are fun," she said, grinning.

"They're troublesome," he muttered, inwardly trying to resist her smile.

"Like every other thing in the world for you," she said."You never know what's going to happen with surprises."

"I think that's the point."

"Tsch," he grumbled, trying to stop the conversation at that.

"There are surprises that always end up good you know," she said after minutes of silence.

He groaned. Can't they just move on already?

"Yeah? What?" he mumbled. And why couldn't he just ignore her?

She smiled, a knowing one, and he felt the blood rush to his cheeks when she stopped, mid step, turned around and laid a peck on his right cheek.

"Oi Pineapple Head, surprise!" she said, grinning, "I like you, did you know? Happy Birthday."

He coughed. He didn't realize he was holding his breath.

"Oi, say something," Temari giggled nervously, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks.

**Reason #04: She often manages to catch him off guard. And always in a very surprisingly nice way.**

_xxx_

She was 22, he was 19. The ties between the Sand and the Leaf were stronger than ever. Their relationship was pretty much already an open secret.

Once they went on an A-ranked Leaf-Sand joint mission. They were sent to retrieve documents stolen by a group of renegade nins. Documents plus one kidnapped grandson of the governor of a country somewhere in between Suna and Konoha.

He was team leader, and it was one of those few times where he could order her around an she's follow without question or difficulty. After all, everyone knew he was Konoha's number one tactician.

There were two other members in their team, and they'd managed to successfully accomplish the mission with now casualties on their side. The other group wasn't as lucky though.

It was the first time the two of them had been assigned on a mission together, which was a little odd considering joint village missions were not at all uncommon anymore. He'd seen her fight different ninjas before, hell, he'd fought her himself, the first time being that one Chuunin tournament many years ago. And everyone knew she'd saved his ass more than once already. But during their years of being _together_ that mission was the first time he'd seen her kill.

Apparently, through all those years, through all those pretty smiles she'd given him, he'd forgotten just how strong , how tough, how _ruthless_ she can be.

And as he saw her take the life of the enemy the only words that went through his head were: "What a scary woman."

He didn't know what to say to her afterwards, after they'd reported the mission status (Success) to the Hokage. She was heading back home to Suna the next day and he knew that they should make the most out of their remaining time together.

But every time he looked at her, the girl – _woman_ he sometimes, very hesitantly, oh so secretly referred to as 'his', images of her mercilessly taking on the enemy would flash through his mind. And then he'd remember how all he'd ever wanted was to find a quiet & average kunoichi, preferably his age, and one he could marry without any complications. So how did he end up with this brash, strong-willed, loudmouthed shinobi who was 3 years his senior, and one he couldn't marry without at least a little inter-village issue to sort out.

Then, later on that night, when they were all alone in the room she was temporarily staying at, a smile, a kiss, a cuddle and a little bit more – all enough to remind him that she was a female too, and there had always been so much more to her than it would originally seem.

**Reason #05: His father was right. Even the toughest woman can be unbelievably gentle with the man she, well, ****_loves_.**

_xxx_

At the end of it all, when he starts wondering '_why her?_' his ultimate answer would always be: 'It's her, and its all _just because_.'

_x fin. _

**More Notes:** Feedback, as usual, is greatly appreciated. Sometimes I think the characterization was a bit off in this one but then I read it over once more and I can easily imagine them doing the things I made them do. I won't bite, so tell me just what you think. But of course I have feelings too, so try be nice too. IOW, be brutally honest but in a constructive, non flame-y way. :)

As usual, this is archived on FFN, my LJ: aoimidori, and the LJ community: shikatemari.


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